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Colorado Copyright Questions & Answers
3 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Business Law, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: My gym made a t shirt that hints at another gyms logo. The t shirt is satire. I’m looking for a lawyer to take a look

The t shirt is purple and says “welcome to the judgement zone” this is a twist on a popular gym franchise. We used the colors yellow and purple and the shirt features a thumbs down in the middle. We can send the design for review

Kevin Michael Strait
Kevin Michael Strait
answered on Jan 17, 2024

Though I can't comment on your specific legal situation in this forum, I can offer some guidance on the fair use doctrines in US trademark law. In a combination of codified federal law and certain supreme court rulings, the development of a phrase or logo that parodies an existing, registered... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Business Law, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: My gym made a t shirt that hints at another gyms logo. The t shirt is satire. I’m looking for a lawyer to take a look

The t shirt is purple and says “welcome to the judgement zone” this is a twist on a popular gym franchise. We used the colors yellow and purple and the shirt features a thumbs down in the middle. We can send the design for review

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jan 18, 2024

When considering the legal aspects of your gym's t-shirt design, it's important to understand the concepts of trademark infringement and parody. Trademark infringement occurs when a new design is confusingly similar to an existing trademark, potentially causing the public to mistakenly... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: Can I use shadow silhouettes of trademarked characters on the cover of an educational non-fiction book?

It is a book about positive, negative, and flat character arcs. The cover would preferably have easily recognizable shadows of characters that fit each arc type. Such as Han Solo, Walter White, and Wonder Woman. I have characters in the public domain in mind in case I need to go that route, but... View More

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
answered on Aug 10, 2023

This raises both copyright and trademark issues, but both bend in your favor.

The copyrights in the commercial depictions of the characters are owned by the producers, but allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,...
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2 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: Can I use shadow silhouettes of trademarked characters on the cover of an educational non-fiction book?

It is a book about positive, negative, and flat character arcs. The cover would preferably have easily recognizable shadows of characters that fit each arc type. Such as Han Solo, Walter White, and Wonder Woman. I have characters in the public domain in mind in case I need to go that route, but... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Aug 15, 2023

Using shadow silhouettes of trademarked characters on the cover of your educational non-fiction book could potentially raise copyright and trademark issues. While the concept of shadows may lessen the likelihood of direct infringement, it's important to consider the overall impression and... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: I’m planning to get a trademark for my company name and slogan. Should I get a copyright for the different artwork?

It is a T-shirt company that will have a variety of artwork along with our basic name and slogan.

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Mar 10, 2023

Yes, it is a good idea to obtain copyright protection for any original artwork that you create and use on your T-shirts. Trademarks protect brand names, logos, and slogans that distinguish a company's products or services from those of others. Copyrights protect original works of authorship,... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: I’m planning to get a trademark for my company name and slogan. Should I get a copyright for the different artwork?

It is a T-shirt company that will have a variety of artwork along with our basic name and slogan.

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
answered on Mar 7, 2023

The company's trademark can be plain text, text with a graphic design, or a graphic design alone. You could also separately register the copyright in the graphic element if it is an original work. And if the products have original graphics, they can also be registered as copyrighted works. You... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: I’m planning to get a trademark for my company name and slogan. Should I get a copyright for the different artwork?

It is a T-shirt company that will have a variety of artwork along with our basic name and slogan.

Kevin Michael Strait
Kevin Michael Strait
answered on Mar 7, 2023

Trademarks and copyright protection are good business protection tools, but these two areas of law can be confusing.

Trademarks protect words slogans, phrases, and graphic art (such as a logo) that are used to identify a brand or a product's seller in the marketplace. Two companies...
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1 Answer | Asked in Trademark, Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: Can I take a photo that I took of a car in a public area, put it on a peice of clothing and sell it?

I took a photo of a bmw m3, in a public area and I edited the photo and designed it, and I’m wondering if I can put it on a shirt and sell it.

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on May 7, 2023

In general, yes, you can take a photo of a car in a public area and use it for commercial purposes such as selling it on a shirt. However, there are certain legal considerations to keep in mind, such as potential copyright or trademark issues if there are logos or branding visible on the car.... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Copyright and Business Law for Colorado on
Q: What to do ?

I started a new instagram account for my twin boys and have posted a video that reached 6 millions views in a week or so and a company contacted me to get a permission from me to share their video in their social media and I will get 60% and they get %40. So I just want to talk with an attorney... View More

Kevin Michael Strait
Kevin Michael Strait
answered on Sep 11, 2022

You are wise to check with an attorney before you sign anything that does not make sense. Generally, the person creating a video clip has an automatically-occurring copyright in that video. The automatic rights are harder to enforce or sell, but the maker of the video clip can register their rights... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: Need to know if I am allowed to us an alias name for a musical artist career.

The name I will be using is “Digitone”. Needing to make sure this doesn’t compete with trademarks under the name that are already in use. As I will not be making products that compete with these said companies that currently hold the trademarked name which seem to be around 5+ companies.

Kevin Michael Strait
Kevin Michael Strait
answered on Jan 20, 2022

Yes, you can use a stage name that is a word or phrase that already exists in another line of business. Trademarks and, more generally, the words and phrases you use to distinguish your performances, are subject to a broad legal test that focuses on likelihood of confusion. The confusion in... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: How do I get my trademark up to date

No pity self inflicted

Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
Fritz-Howard Raymond Clapp
answered on Jan 10, 2022

The application (serial number 86066606) to register NO PITY SELF INFLICTED was abandoned in 2014, for failure to respond to an action from the trademark examiner. It cannot be revived. If you still want to use and register the mark as before, you should consult an experienced trademark attorney... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Bankruptcy, Contracts, Copyright and Collections for Colorado on
Q: What is the Statute of limitations in a auto-loan delinquency. The account was originally listed as “ “ “ charge off “

The account is now listed as closed, I never made any agreement/payment arrangements w/ creditor after the car was voluntarily repossessed.

Mike T. Ramsey
Mike T. Ramsey
answered on Jan 6, 2022

Statutes of limitations vary by state. For example in Mississippi, the statute of limitations on an auto loan deficiency is only one year. Under Colorado Revised Statute 13-80-103.5, the statute of limitations is 6 years. This runs from the date of the last payment. The fact that it is... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Copyright for Colorado on
Q: I own an old book by Enos Mills. I'm using it inspire a new story. Last copy right was 1939. How can I do this legally?

The original book has many stories in it. One is about beavers that I'm using to write a children's book. I'd like to use some of his words verbatim but I'm not sure if that's legal. The children's story summarizes that original work. All artwork will be done by me. I... View More

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Nov 20, 2021

You need to consult with an attorney to understand your options.

Depending on how you use the material, how much, when the copyright expires, etc. you may have some legal right to do it.

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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: Hello, is the story of Kong in the public domain? I have heard King Kong and Kong are separate entities can anyone help?

I am an author and I have been considering creating a story based on Kong, using all of the Kong properties such as the character of Kong himself, skull island, and the things related to the original 1933 story. From what I understand Universal Studios own the rights to the character King Kong, but... View More

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Aug 15, 2021

Interesting question. You need to consult with an attorney to evaluate your options.

It is possible that parts of the story are now or soon in public domain. BUT you need to be careful on what you use. Just because something is in the public domain, if you copy somebody's else...
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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Colorado on
Q: I bought a domain I found content from 5 1/2 years ago when someone else let it sit dormant. Can I use that content?

The only copyright on the bottom of the old site was for the domain name which I now own.

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Jul 16, 2021

It will depend if the content is unique or generic.

You must consult with an attorney

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright, Sexual Harassment and Criminal Law for Colorado on
Q: What can I legally do if someone sends themselves naked photos of me without my consent?
Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Jul 11, 2021

Talk to the Police and an attorney!

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright for Colorado on
Q: Hello, I am looking for legal advice on a business I would like to start. The business is purchasing pictures of

professional athletes online, photoshopping them into a cartoon, then reselling them on a canvas through Etsy.

Since I plan to use pro athlete photos from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MMA, NASCAR, etc.... I have a few questions.

1) What type of license to I need from the photo creator... View More

Tania Maria Williams
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answered on Jul 15, 2020

Using the name of the team is likely trademark infringement. Using the athlete's likeness could run you into issues with the right of publicity because you're using it for a commercial purpose. The photo does belong to the photographer or the organization if they licensed it and while... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: I want to know about data scraping and possible copyright infringement.

I want to create a social app for people that collect things, but I need public data to do it. For instance, this site http://www.tycollector.com/beanies/beanie-roster.htm has a list of all beanie babies and info about them. I need the data so collectors can id their items. They would be able to... View More

John B. Hudak
John B. Hudak
answered on Jun 10, 2020

Copyright related to compilations of data is a specific area of copyright law and analysis of the exact list and estimations of the mental effort and transformation to the underlying facts in the list may be part of the analysis. If you are doing research on your own, and want a potential starting... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Copyright, Intellectual Property and Trademark for Colorado on
Q: I am designing shoes and named one pair Kill Bill. Could I get in trouble for trademark infringement?

It would be helpful if you could guide me to some resources to prevent copyright/trademark infringement with my designs and names for shoes.

John B. Hudak
John B. Hudak
answered on Jun 10, 2020

When doing research about trademarks and copyrights look at uspto.gov and copyright.gov.

You can search for trademarks on TESS. Your trademark search should include more than TESS.

Consider hiring an intellectual property attorney to do a full analysis of the facts specific to...
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1 Answer | Asked in Copyright and Intellectual Property for Colorado on
Q: How can I tell if what I’m selling violates any intellectual property infringements? I sell themed diaper cakes I make

Star Wars , a Harry Potter and other trademarked characters or brands used to make a baby shower gifts I sell. I want to make sure I don’t get sued or violate any trademark, copyrights, etc

Marcos Garciaacosta
Marcos Garciaacosta
answered on Apr 10, 2020

You can always be sued.

Most big companies decide not to go after small guys, specially if it is in the fan realm like in Comicon.

You do not have zero risk, you are at the mercy of what the owners want to do.

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